Forever and Always
by Cnglee
Summary: Maxie has been shot by Cesar Faison. Will she make it?
1. Chapter 1

**WHO ELSE HATES THAT NATHAN DIED! WELL I WILL NO LONGER BE WATCHING GH UNTIL NATHAN RETURNS! I GET THAT THE ACTOR WANTED TO LEAVE BUT THEY NEEDED TO JUST REPLACE HIM FOR A WHILE!**

 **Okay rant over. I came up with this idea when Cesar shot Nathan. What if Maxie had been the one shot?**

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 _Maxie was being held by Cesar when Nathan came off the elevator. The next thing Maxie knew was that Cesar pulled the trigger on his gun and Maxie tried to shield Nathan. Then there was a blinding pain in her shoulder and Cesar let her go. She fell to the ground and gasped._

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Nathan rushed to Maxie not truly caring if Cesar shot him or not. He fell beside her and found her wound quickly. Maxie looked at him wide eyed.

"Nathan."

He nodded and put his hands over her wound. "Yeah baby i'm here."

Peter August came into the room and was on a cell phone. He spoke to Nathan.

"An ambulance is coming."

Nathan nodded. "get me some towels or tissues or something."

Peter disappeared and returned with paper towels. They did little to stop the bleeding. Nathan spoke to Maxie.

"Come on Baby keep talking to me."

Maxie smiled. "I love you."

Nathan nodded. "I love you too."

"This is all my fault."

Nathan shook his head. "No you did nothing wrong. Everything is going to be okay..."

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"Thirty year old female, GSW to chest upper left side. Vital signs erratic. Seventeen weeks pregnant."

Maxie winced as the nurses moved her from one gurney to another in the emergency room. She could hear a lot of chatter around her head. Finally she spotted a familiar face of Elizabeth. She felt a little relieved. Elizabeth stood in shock.

"Maxie."

A doctor walked over and spoke to her. "Maxie I am Dr. Rashi. I need you to blink once if you understand me."

Maxie blinked and he nodded. "I want full scans as soon as possible and we need to get that bleeding under control. We have a short window of time people."

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Nathan was pacing the waiting room while Felicia and Mac sat perfectly still. He was covered in Maxie's blood and worried beyond belief. Amy walked out and spoke to him.

"Nathan."

He rushed to her. "How's Maxie?"

"Dr. Rashi is stabilizing her before she goes in for surgery."

Felicia and Mac stood and Felicia shook as she spoke. "Dr. rashi...is he good?"

Amy nodded. "He is and they're calling in more doctors."

They all nodded and watched as she went back. Griffin walked into the hospital pale faced. He had been told what happened and now it was up to he and Monica Quartermaine to save Maxie's life. When he walked into the Trauma room he saw Maxie covered in blood and having her clothes cut off. He jumped into action. Elizabeth handed her the films and he examined them carefully.

"Okay the bullet is in the chest cavity. It looks like it missed the left ventricle...Dr. Quartermaine should be able to tell us more. How is her vitals?"

A nurse looked. "She's hanging in there."

"The baby?"

"fetal heartrate is steady."

"Has anyone talked to the husband?"

"Not yet. We were waiting on Dr. Quartermaine."

He nodded. As he looked at the wound Monica walked in. She took a deep breath and jumped in.

"How is she?"

Griffin looked at her. "We need to get the bullet out before it migrates."

She nodded and looked at the scans. "Okay...get her prepped and ready. Grab Bobbie and ask her to scrub in also I want Dr. Nero to come in for a quick word before we talk to the family."

Griffin nodded and started helping Elizabeth prep. When Dr. Nero finally arrived Monica spoke quickly.

"If we have to deliver the baby what are it's chances?"

Dr. Nero sighed. "About ten percent survival. Maybe less."

Monica nodded and spoke to Griffin. "I need to scrub in. Can you explain things to the family?"

He nodded and went over everything with her before walking into the waiting room with the consent forms. Nathan was joined by Felicia, Mac, Spinelli, Nina, Carly, Peter, Olivia, and Jason. Nathan looked at him.

"Griffin."

Griffin sighed and sat in front of him. "The bullet is in Maxie's chest cavity. Thankfully it missed her left ventricle but it is still moving. So Dr. Quartermaine needs to open up her chest and remove the bullet as quickly as possible and then repair the damage."

Nathan was in shock. He barely recognized his own voice when he spoke. "What about the baby?"

"As for now it's holding steady. Dr. Nero has agreed to sit in on the surgery. If it comes down to it...she will deliver the baby. At seventeen weeks gestation it stands a ten percent chance of survival...but that is our last case scenario." He handed Nathan the clipboard. "We need your consent to perform the surgery."

Nathan nodded and signed. He then looked at Griffin and spoke quietly. "She is everything to me...She is my world."

He nodded. "We will do whatever we can."

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Nathan was forced to sit and wait. It comforted him when Dante showed up with his mother and Lulu. Everyone was on pins and needles. They had no clue what was happening with Maxie. Meanwhile in the OR, Monica sighed. Griffin looked at her.

"How bad?"

She looked at him. "Well I got the bullet but there is a lot of damage...i'll have to repair it slowly but she has already lost a lot of blood."

"Okay so we'll get her more blood."

"Problem is she's b- negative."

Griffin sighed. "Maybe a family member can donate?"

Dr. Nero stood. "The baby is holding steady." She spoke to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth can you keep an eye on the monitors and I will go talk to the family."

Elizabeth nodded and Dr. Nero left the room. She wrapped her hands in a sterile cloth and then walked out. The waiting room was completely full. She sighed. Mac was the first to see her.

"Dr. Nero."

She walked over and spoke to all of them. "Maxie is still in surgery. Now we've removed the bullet but the damage was more extensive then the scans originally showed. We're looking at another few hours of surgery."

Every face looked worried. Nathan was sitting with his mom and Dante. Dr. Nero spoke to Felicia.

"When Maxie had her heart transplant all of your family members would have been tested for compatibility in case she needed a blood transfusion."

Felicia nodded. "Yes we all were."

"Was anyone a match?"

Felicia started to think. "Tony and B.J. are both dead...Frisco is overseas..."

Dr. Nero sighed. "Do you know anyone else with B- negative blood?"

Carly Corinthos spoke up. "Michael is."

Michael nodded. "I'll donate."

Dr. Nero nodded and ushered him over. Nathan stood and shook his hand.

"Thank you."

Michael placed his hand on his shoulder. "It's Maxie. Anyone in this room would do anything for her."

Nathan nodded. Michael walked out with Dr. Nero. Soon Dr. Nero was walking back into the OR with a fresh bag of blood and two from the blood bank.

"Michael Corinthos was able to donate and the blood bank had two bags on hand."

Monica nodded. "Hang the first bag. We have multiple rib fractures and the pieces are working their way towards the lungs. She's taking in too much air."

Griffin gave her a hand. After a couple hours the monitors started going off. Monica cursed.

"We're loosing her."

Dr. Nero spoke up. "The fetal heartrate is dropping..."

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Monica walked out and spotted the waiting room full of people. Lulu saw her and stood. With her so did Nathan and Felicia. Nathan spoke anxious.

"How is she?"

Monica spoke quietly. "She is in the ICU. We were able to remove the bullet and repair the damage. Thankfully her ribs took the brunt of the damage." She then dropped her voice even more. "We almost lost her twice. But she is tough. So is that little one of yours. It's holding strong as well. The next twenty four hours will be critical. We're going to give her another blood transfusion and monitor her closely."

Nathan felt defeated. He spoke quietly. "Can I see her?"

She nodded and led him back. Maxie's room was the first next to the nurses station. She was asleep with a tube in her mouth and wires covering almost every inch of her body. Nathan walked over to her and sat down by her head. He brushed her hair back and spoke with tears in his eyes.

"Hey Beautiful...you pulled through...I knew you would." He grabbed her hand and looked at the bump of her stomach. "Dr. Quartermaine says our little one is tough. Just like it's mother. Everyone is stunned that it made it..."

He watched the monitors for a few minutes. The top one was Maxie's vitals and the bottom was their baby's. He sniffled and smiled again.

"So I was thinking...maybe we should look at getting a house...one with a big yard so that we can get one of those crazy big swing sets...Georgie would love it...and we can swing with our kid...and we could get a dog..."

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	2. Chapter 2

Michael was in the waiting room with everyone else. He walked over to his dad and Dante. He sighed and sat down.

"There has to be something that we can do."

Sonny shook his head. "We can't help her right now. You did all that we can do."

Michael nodded and then his eyes widened. "Maybe not...can I borrow the plane?"

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Nathan was afraid to sleep. He thought that if he closed his eyes he would miss her waking up. He fully intended to be the first person that she saw. A knock came on the door and Nina stepped in. She smiled slightly and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Figured you needed this."

He nodded and took a sip. "Thank you."

She sat down next to him and looked at Maxie. "Felicia and Mac are in the cafeteria with Liesl and Lulu. How is she?"

"Same."

She placed her hand on Maxie's and smiled. "You know she told me that my shoes were too blah yesterday?"

He smiled a little. "No she didn't."

She nodded. "She said that I was too young to look like a grandma."

He laughed a little. "Sounds like her."

Nina smiled and then grabbed his hand. "She is never afraid to say what is on her mind. I hope if this baby inherits anything from her it's that. because you my friend have always clamed up on your personal thoughts."

He smiled. "Yeah. I want it to have her smile."

"With your eyes. Oh man that kid is going to break some hearts."

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Anna walked into the waiting room and spoke to Dante.

"How is Maxie?"

Dante sighed. "She's out of surgery but she's still critical. Nathan hasn't left her side."

She nodded. "Well our day just got a hell of a lot worse."

Dante stood with Sonny and Jason. Anna spoke frankly.

"Cesar has escaped."

They all looked stunned. Felicia and Mac stepped off the elevator and were filled in. Mac spoke quickly.

"How the hell did he get out of the hospital?"

"He crawled through the air vents. We have teams searching for him now."

Dante sighed. "What about Maxie and Nathan?"

"This is the safest place on Earth right now."

Dante strode past her and into the ICU. He knocked before walking into Maxie's room. Nathan and Nina glanced up. Dante sighed and looked at Maxie. He put a hand on her foot and spoke smiling.

"I know that you love attention but this is a little extreme."

Nathan cracked a smile. "I don't think she ants this kind of attention."

Dante nodded and looked at his partner. "Faison escaped."

Nathan and Nina were both on their feet in a flash. Nathan spoke through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"Anna just told us. He crawled out through the air vents...she has the WSB here and they are looking for him. He isn't getting out of Port Charles."

Nathan flopped back into the chair next to Maxie and shook his head.

"Will this ever be over?"

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Nathan hadn't left Maxie in almost twenty hours. Elizabeth walked in and checked Maxie's vitals before hanging more fluids. She then looked at Nathan.

"Don't take this personally but you look terrible."

He cracked a small smile. "Thanks."

Elizabeth looked at him carefully. "I know that I will not convince you to go home but I will say this, go get some fresh air. Just for a few minutes. Get something to eat. I promise I will stay in here with her and call you with the slightest change."

Nathan hesitated and Elizabeth smiled a little.

"Maxie wouldn't be happy if she knew that you were not taking care of yourself."

Nathan nodded and stood. He leaned over Maxie and spoke in her ear quietly.

"I'll be right back Baby. I love you."

He walked out of the room and went to get some air. Elizabeth sat down in his vacated seat and caught up on her charts. Meanwhile Michael Corinthos was leading a very confused little girl into the waiting room. Lulu saw and was stunned.

"Georgie?"

The little girl smiled and hugged her. "Hi Aunt Lulu."

Spinelli looked confused but hugged his daughter. "Hi there Little Girl."

Georgie giggled. "Michael brought me on Uncle Sonny's plane."

He chuckled. "Oh wow was it fun?"

She nodded. "Where's Mommy and Nathan?"

Spinelli knelt down and sighed. "Mommy is very sick little one...and she needs us to be really brave right now."

Georgie nodded and Michael spoke to Spinelli.

"I figured when she wakes up this will be the face she'll want to see with Nathan's. Ellie said it was okay..."

Spinelli nodded and hugged him. "This is so much more then any of us could have...Young Mr. Sir..."

Michael chuckled a bit. He then knelt down and smiled at Georgie.

"Do you want to go see your Mommy?"

She nodded. Michael grabbed her hand and led her down the hallway. He spoke to her softly.

"Now Mommy looks really sick but the doctors are working very hard to make her all better."

Georgie nodded. Michael walked in and Elizabeth looked a little taken aback.

"What is..."

Michael smiled. "This is Georgie. Maxie's little girl."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'll guard the door."

They both turned when Nathan came in. He looked better since he ate and went outside. He looked stunned when he saw his step-daughter. Georgie smiled and ran to him. He knelt down and hugged her tight.

"Hey there."

Georgie kissed his cheek. "You look like you need a nap."

Nathan chuckled. "I probably should."

Michael smiled. "I thought that Max would want to see her when she wakes up. I'll leave you guys alone."

Nathan nodded and mouthed "thank you" before sitting back in his chair and putting Georgie on his lap. The little girl reached her hand out and grabbed Maxie's. She smiled.

"Hi Mommy."

Nathan had to blink twice. He was stunned when he saw Maxie's eyes flutter open. He moved closer careful not to dump Georgie on the floor.

"Max?"

She looked over and smiled. She spoke in a croaky voice. "My two favorite people."

Georgie smiled. "I missed you Mommy."

"I missed you too."

Nathan took his free hand and placed it over Maxie's and Georgie's.


	3. Chapter 3

Georgie went with Lulu to get a drink while Monica and Nathan stayed with Maxie. Monica smiled.

"You gave all of us a good scare."

Maxie smiled sleepily. "Sorry." She then blinked and her face turned worried. "The baby...? Is the baby okay?"

Monica nodded. "It's a tough one." She lifted Maxie's gown and examined her wound. "You still have a long road to go."

Nathan smiled and held onto Maxie's hand. "Well she won't be alone."

"I have no doubt." She smiled. "I'll be back to check on you in an hour."

Maxie nodded. Elizabeth gave her some medicine and smiled.

"Well you have one hell of a husband. This guy hasn't left your side."

Maxie smiled up at Nathan. "I know i'm lucky."

He chuckled and kissed her. "I'm lucky."

As soon as Elizabeth left the room Nathan smiled.

"You really scared me."

She sighed. "I'm sorry...is Faison...?"

Nathan chose his next words carefully and chose to lie. "He was shot too."

She nodded. "Good."

Georgie walked back in with Lulu. She ran to the bed and smiled.

"Mommy, Uncle Sonny has a big plane and they can cook on it!"

Maxie laughed a little and then winced. "Do they cook better then me and Daddy?"

She nodded. Lulu chuckled.

"Max no offence but Rocco cooks better then you."

Maxie rolled her eyes. Georgie handed Nathan a bottle of water before grinning wickedly at him.

"Your Muther says you need to drink."

The adults laughed at her. He nodded.

"Well you'll have to tell my Muther that I am."

She nodded and looked at Maxie. "Mommy you look sleepy."

Maxie smiled. "Mommy's fine."

Nathan shook his head. "Mommy needs some rest. Go ahead. We'll still be here when you wake up."

Maxie sighed and let her eyes drift closed.

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Nathan had no idea how long he'd been at the hospital until Liesl came into the room with Monica. She looked at her son.

"I know that you are worried but you are no good to her as tired as you are."

He sighed. Maxie blinked and opened her eyes. Monica saw first and smiled.

"Hello Maxie. How are you feeling?"

Maxie smiled a little. "Sore."

She nodded. "Well that is to be expected."

Liesl spoke to her concerned. "How is your pain?"

Maxie shrugged. "Fine."

Liesl read her face and looked at Monica. "Can she have a touch more?"

Monica nodded. "I'll have Elizabeth get it."

Liesl spoke to Maxie. "We were trying to convince Nathan to go home and shower."

Maxie nodded and grabbed his hand. "Go home get some sleep."

He sighed. "I'm fine."

She shook her head. "You need sleep and a shower. Go ahead. I'll be okay here."

He hesitated but eventually gave in. He went home to their apartment. He sorted through the mail and then took a shower. He sat down on the couch just to look through the mail once again and ended up falling asleep.

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Maxie woke up again but this time Nathan was not there. She remembered where he had went and why. Elizabeth walked in and smiled.

"Hey Maxie. I just need to change your dressings."

Maxie nodded and watched as Elizabeth moved aside Maxie's hospital gown and revealed a slightly bloody bandage. She pulled it off to reveal a stitched wound that was starting to ooze. She made a face and hit something on her pager. Soon Griffin walked in. He smiled.

"Hey Maxie. How do you feel?"

Maxie sighed. "Tired and sore."

He nodded and looked at her wound. "Okay well I need to drain some of this fluid so I am going to start a catheter and collect some of it."

Maxie nodded. Soon a needle was being placed into the already painful wound and a catheter was hooked to it. Maxie tried not to look at the bag collecting fluid. After a while Dr. Nero walked in and smiled.

"How are you feeling?"

Maxie rolled her eyes. "I really wish people would stop asking me that."

She nodded. "Well I wanted to take a quick peak at the baby. It's been through a lot."

Maxie nodded. An ultrasound machine was brought in and Dr. Nero started immediately. She looked carefully before turning the screen.

"There it is."

Maxie felt more emotions then she had before. Her baby could have died...that was mind-blowing to her. Dr. Nero looked closer and grinned widely.

"Okay so do you still want me to put a gender in an envelope for you?"

Maxie sat up a little straighter. "You can tell?"

"Yup."

"Yes please. In the envelope."

Dr. Nero grinned and wrote the gender on a piece of paper before putting it in a black envelope that she had in her coat pocket. She handed it to Maxie smiling.

"There we go. It looks good."

She printed her out some pictures before leaving. A few minutes later Carly walked in with Josslyn. She grinned.

"Hey I figured you needed something better then hospital food and Olivia agreed so..." She set some containers on Maxie's hospital tray. "We have pesto pasta, some Italian bread and a mango smoothie for dessert."

Maxie smiled. "That is so sweet of you guys."

Josslyn smiled. "Well hospital food sucks."

She set some brightly colored flowers down and then a pink card with a toddler's scribble on it.

"Avery made this for you."

Maxie smiled. "I love it."

Carly sat down and spotted the envelope. "What is that?"

Maxie grinned. "Our baby's gender. We wanted to have a reveal with everyone but now...I don't know why I wont look..."

Carly smiled. "Well if you want I can set something up for you guys."

"Really?"

"Yeah it will be in and you could use a little fun."

Maxie couldn't argue with that so she handed over the envelope.

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Nathan ran into the room and gave a sigh of relief. Maxie was sitting up sipping on a drink. She smiled a little.

"Carly and Joss brought me some food."

he nodded and kissed her before sitting down. he noticed that she had more color in her face.

"You look a lot better."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks Babe."

He chuckled. He noticed the new tubing and the bag. "What's that?"

She looked and made a face. "They're draining fluid from the wound."

"When did that happen?"

"A few hours ago. Right before Dr. Nero came in and gave me these."

She handed him the new picture of the baby. He grinned.

"Look at that."

"Well we now will get to find out the gender."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Carly offered to plan something."

He nodded and relaxed with her. When Elizabeth walked in with Griffin Maxie smiled.

"Come to poke me again?"

Griffin laughed. "I just need to check on the wound and redress it."

Elizabeth pulled him over a tray. He put on clean gloves and looked at Nathan.

"You can stay if you want but if you're squeamish..."

Nathan shook his head and grabbed Maxie's hand. "I'm staying."

He nodded and put on a mask. He pulled out the catheter and the needle before looking at the wound.

"It looks better...Okay i'm going to clean the wound again before applying some ointment."

She nodded. Soon she felt a lot of burning and winced. Nathan kissed her forehead and tried to avoid looking at the wound. Soon Griffin was spreading a thick ointment on the wound and covering it with some gauze. He nodded.

"You did great Maxie."

She gave a sigh of relief when he was done. "Thank you."

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Anna walked into Maxie's room and smiled.

"Hi Maxie. Nathan tells me that you're feeling better?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully they'll let me out of here soon."

Anna nodded and sat down. Jordan Ashford walked in along with Valerie. They smiled. Anna did the majority of the talking.

"So we need to get your statement."

Maxie nodded. "I went to Crimson and when I walked into Nina's office I saw Peter August and he tried to stop me from coming in. I didn't listen...I walked in and I saw Cesar Faison. He held a gun up at me...He tried to talk to me and Peter went for a gun...He shot Peter or I thought that he did...He held a gun to me and dragged me toward the door. I heard the elevator and I saw Nathan. I stepped in front of the gun as Cesar fired. I...I wanted to protect Nathan..."

She was crying hysterically by the time she was done. So much so that her monitors went crazy. Nathan and Elizabeth rushed in and Elizabeth spoke to them.

"You need to leave now."

They did. Anna looked at Nathan.

"We won't need to talk with her again."

he nodded and grabbed Maxie. She cried into his shoulder. She gasped out.

"He was going to kill you..."

Nathan sighed. "I know."

Once Maxie was calmed down Nathan spoke to her.

"So I was thinking that maybe we should start looking for a house. You know one with a big yard..."

Maxie nodded. "That would be nice."

"Well there are some for sale by Lulu and Dante that we can look into. i'm not saying right away but soon."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed. She then looked a little confused.

"There was something...when I was talking to Anna...I think Peter knows Cesar..."

Nathan raised his brows. "What?"

"It seemed like they somehow knew eachother."

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	4. Chapter 4

Maxie woke up in a panic. She looked around the dark hospital room. The chair next to her bed was empty and she quickly remembered why. Nathan went home to get some rest and a shower. She relaxed a little but then started feeling a shooting pain in her chest. She pressed her call button and Kiki Jerome walked in. She smiled.

"Hey Maxie. It's a little early but if you are hungry I am sure I can find you something."

Maxie shakes her head. "I'm not hungry...my chest is tightening."

Kiki takes off her stethoscope and listens to her heart before hitting a button on her pager. She notices how swollen her wound is. Griffin walks in and smiles.

"How are you doing Maxie?"

Kiki shakes her head and shows him the wound. he makes a face and mutters to himself. He looks at Maxie.

"I want to do an echo and CT."

Maxie starts to panic slightly. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm sure everything is fine."

He pulls Kiki aside. "Page Dr. Quartermaine."

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Maxie tried to breathe as the CT scan started. Griffin was being very tight lipped about everything. She really panicked when Dr. Quartermaine walked in. Maxie recognized the look on her face and sighed.

"Just tell me."

Dr. Quartermaine nodded. "Maxie we need to take you back into the OR and explore your wound. I may have missed something."

Maxie nodded. Soon she was prepped and taken into the OR. Monica opened her up with Griffin and Kiki at her side. She cursed under her breath and Griffin looked.

"What?"

"I missed a hole in her lung. It's small but it's there."

He nodded. "So she was fighting harder and harder to breathe."

She nodded. Just as she was about to close up Maxie's heart rate plummeted as did the baby's.

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Nathan arrived at the hospital and walked into Maxie's room. He was surprised to find that she was gone. He looked at Amy at the nurses station.

"Where's Maxie?"

Amy looked confused. "I don't know I just got here." She glanced at Elizabeth. "Maxie Jones, did we move her?"

Elizabeth looked as Mac, Felicia, Liesl and Lulu got off the elevator. Felicia smiled.

"We figured we could cheer Maxie up by making some more baby shower plans."

He nodded. "Well they may have moved her."

Elizabeth looked at Nathan. "Actually she was taken in for another surgery."

Nathan felt his heart drop. "What?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Dr. Quartermaine is operating again. It says here that she complained early this morning of chest pain."

Felicia looked at Elizabeth. "How long ago was she taken?"

"A couple hours ago."

Before anything else could be asked the elevator dinged and a stretcher was being brought off. Monica spotted Felicia and walked over.

"There was a small hole in Maxie's left lung most likely caused by a rib fragment. I patched her up and cleaned up some of the scar tissue."

Nathan looked at Maxie. Her skin was almost white. She had a huge tube in her mouth. He rushed to her side and kissed her forehead before looking at Griffin.

"How is she now?"

"She's tough. The baby's heartrate is hanging steady."

Nathan nodded and took his seat back beside Maxie. Lulu walked in and set a bouquet of white roses down. She smiled.

"I figured that she would like them."

Nathan nodded. Lulu smiled and straightened the blankets around Maxie.

"Well Spinelli is going to let me take Georgie so I was thinking about taking she and Rocco to the park. I'll take a ton of pictures for you guys."

He nodded. "Thank you Lulu."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Maxie is the most stubborn person I know. Do you really think she is going to jeopardize her skin care regime by staying in here much longer?"

Nathan laughed. "I guess not."

"Have a little faith."

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Maxie's eyes fluttered open and she felt something in her mouth making it hard to breathe. She gagged on it and Elizabeth pulled it out. Maxie cughed and then looked around. Nathan and Kiki were next to her concerned. She looked at Nathan.

"Did Monica fix me?"

He nodded. "Yes. You had a hole in your lung."

She sighed and laid back against the blankets. "I feel like I got hit by a bus."

Kiki laughed a little. "Sorry. But if it makes you feel any better you get to leave the ICU and be put in a much more comfortable room."

Maxie joked. "Yay!"

Nathan rolled his eyes amused. As soon as Maxie was moved he adjusted the arrangements of flowers in her new room and then handed her a notepad and pen.

"Write down whatever you want from the apartment and I will send your mom to get it."

She smiled and wrote out a small list. Felicia returned with the items an hour later. Mac Had one of their living room blankets in hand. He spread it over her and smiled.

"Figured that you needed comfort."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Felicia set down a duffle bag and frowned. "You need to stop scaring me. I swear you are going to give me a grey hair."

Maxie tried not to laugh. She was glad when she and Nathan were left alone. It was getting dark outside but Nathan showed no signs of leaving. Maxie looked at him and sighed.

"Come here."

He stood from his seat and walked over to her bed. She moved over so that he would fit next to her. He laid down and she laid their blanket over him as well and rested her head on his shoulder. She then teased him.

"I used to sleep just fine on my own."

he laughed and kissed her forehead. "Sorry."

She then smiled. "Can I show you something?"

He nodded. She grabbed his hand and moved it onto her stomach. He felt tiny little nudges and smiled.

"Wow...that's our kid."

She nodded. "Our little fighter."

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Maxie was flipping through a magazine when Lulu knocked on the door.

"hey are you up for some company?"

She nodded. Lulu led in Charlotte, Josslyn, Georgie and Avery. Maxie smiled.

"What's going on?"

Josslyn explained as she set down several bright pink bags. "We figured that you needed a girl's day."

Lulu nodded. "So we brought some nail polishes and some treats and some Crimson quizzes."

Maxie didn't know what to say. Georgie handed her a painting.

"Here Mommy. I made this for you. You're room is boring."

She laughed. "Thank you."

Avery climbed onto the bed with Charlotte's help and grinned. "Nails done?"

Maxie grinned. "Sure. What color do you like?"

"Pink."

Lulu laughed and handed Maxie a pink sparkly nail polish. Soon nails were being painted, cookies were passed around and Crimson quizzes were being read. Josslyn glanced up as she painted Maxie's nails navy.

"So Mom and I have so many cute ideas for your gender reveal party. We were thinking of doing a bumble bee theme so that it's different. But not like the cheesy cartoon bumble bees like the cute bumble bees."

"That sounds sweet."

She nodded and put a clear coat on Maxie's nails. "And no reveal cake that's way overdone. We came up with several original ideas."

Charlotte giggled. "I hope it's a girl so we can do this stuff with her too."

Georgie shrugged. "I want it to be a boy. That way I can blame stuff on him."

Maxie rolled her eyes at that one. When the door opened Kiki walked in and smiled.

"Wow we're having a party."

Avery grinned. "Kiki!"

Kiki kissed her sister's forehead and grinned. "Do you have pink nails?"

She nodded. "Axie did em."

"Maxie did them? Wow! That was so nice of her."

She nodded excited. "I show Daddy!"

Kiki checked Maxie's vitals and Josslyn grinned.

"Sit down Kiki. You can take five minutes and get your nails done."

Kiki rolled her eyes amused and sat down.

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The girls were still there when Nathan and Dante came in. Nathan smiled when Georgie ran up to him.

"Look! Josslyn painted flowers on Charlotte and I's nails!"

He looked and grinned. "That was nice of her. Did you thank her?"

She nodded. Charlotte showed Dante hers. He faked excitement.

"Wow. How cool are those?"

Charlotte grinned. "So cool."

Lulu laughed and grabbed Avery off the bed. "We figured that Maxie needed some cheering up."

Josslyn nodded. "Yeah hospitals suck."

Nathan mouthed thank you to her. As everyone left Georgie kissed Maxie's cheek and followed Lulu out of the room. Nathan sat down and noticed that Maxie looked happier then she had in days.

"You look better."

She nodded and leaned against the pillows. "I wish they would just let me recover at home."

He nodded. "Maybe I can talk to Dr. Quartermaine?"

She nodded and kissed him.


End file.
